We're almost home
by kingdomkeepers365
Summary: Long ago, Tallahasse was their hope, their home. Now it was Henry. But with Neal engaged, that home seems far away. But Tamara isn't who she seems and when she kidnaps Henry, it brings Emma and Neal together in a way they never expected, trying to save Henry. Can they find and save him and what does it mean for their relationship?
1. 1: A fiancee ,a father and a kidnapping

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first ONCE fanfiction and I'm so excited! It all started from a prediction because I think that Henry being in danger is going to bring Emma and Neal together. Plus, I have my thoughts on Tamara. This is set a little bit after "Welcome to Storybrooke" because that's when I started writing it. Okay well, enjoy! **

Emma woke up to a bright and sunny morning. It as a fairly normal morning. Sure things had been seriously intense lately, but they were starting to clear up. Her dad had helped her mom start to feel better. Henry had stopped being mad at her and he was really connecting with Neal. This made Emma happy; it was great for Henry to have a father in his life.

In fact, Emma had been reluctant to admit it to herself, but she actually was happy to be reunited with Neal. Sure she was shocked at first, even angry all over again, but then she realized what she had been reluctant to admit. She still loved Neal, she always had and she had always secretly hoped that one day she would see him again. That was the real reason why she had always worn the keychain that he got her.

After the initial feeling of shock, many things had reinforced this tender feeling. First, seeing the dream catcher in Neal's apartment, the very same dream catcher that she had found in a hotel room all those years ago. Had he really kept it? Did he really still love her that much? Then, there was seeing how much he loved Henry instantly. Even before he knew if Henry indeed was his son, he had been on the verge of tears. He obviously truly cared for Henry.

All of these things and more combined to make Emma's feelings resurface. There were many times when she realized it, things triggered it. She remembered when Rumplestiltken had been dying, talking to Neal. He had said

"I've spent a lifetime looking for you, trying to get a chance to say I love you"

Emma realized that this was also how she felt about Neal. Still when she had finally seen him, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Still, even though she did still love Neal, she didn't show it. Inside, she had all of these feelings, but outside she still put up her wall. Admitting her feelings t herself was difficult enough, never mind admitting it to herself was difficult enough, never admitting them to others. Plus, now Neal had a fiancé and she had come into town last night.

Emma got up out of bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Her parents were making pancakes, her favorite. She sniffed and could smell muffins baking in the oven. This day was getting off to an amazing start. She sat down in front of the counter. Henry had spent the night at Neal's house. She thought it would be a good idea for him to get him to know his step mother to be. Snow placed a mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon in front of her.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Ya, great actually" said Emma. She had been dreaming of her earlier times with Neal. Eleven years and she still remembered every moment like it was yesterday.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked her mother.

"Better" Snow replied. "What time is Neal dropping Henry off?"

"I don't know" said Emma. "He said he was going to take him out for breakfast at Granny's and then bring him over here." Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Well that was earlier than I expected" said Emma. She got up from her seat and answered the door.

* * *

The night before, Neal had been waiting in his apartment for Tamara. He was slightly excited for her visit. She was his fiancé after all. Still, he was anxious as well. Now Emma was back in his life and he loved her as well.

Neal was at a loss about what to do about Tamara. If he broke the engagement, he would be breaking the heart of a woman he loved. He couldn't bear the pain of doing that again. But, he had also recognized the chemistry between him and Emma resurfacing. If he stayed with Tamara he would be breaking Emma's heart all over again and that would be a pain too great to handle.

As he was sitting there, thinking, the doorbell rang. Tamara was standing there with a suitcase. Neal reached out to hug her, but she pushed away. She didn't even say hello.

"Who was that Emma girl?" she asked. Her arms were crossed and her face was angry.

Neal was shocked, hurt even. Still he understood. He was in such a rush to save his father that he had told Tamara he was leaving town with another woman with no explanation.

"Babe" he said. "Calm down."

"Don't babe me!"

"It's a long story, but I can explain. Just come inside and sit down." Tamara pushed past him and sat down angrily on the couch. Neal leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head away.

"I'm your fiancé" she said. "One would think that you would have the decency not to cheat on me!" she was yelling now, her voice full of rage.

"Who Whoa Whoa slow down!" said Neal. "Who said anything about cheating on you?!"

"I saw the way you were looking at that woman the way she was looking at you. That's not the way casual acquaintances look at each other Neal."

"Just please let me explain!" Neal shouted. Tamara quieted down, agreeing to listen. She was visibly still angry.

"Go on" she said. "I'm waiting"

"Emma…" Neal began. He stopped to force himself to say the words. "Emma is the mother of my child."

"WHAT?!" Tamara screamed.

"Relax!" Neal said. "We were 18 and it didn't last. The day you saw me with her was the first time I had seen her in eleven years and I didn't even know about my son until then!" Neal swallowed, trying to calm his voice down. "The two of us are over now" saying those last words were a struggle for Neal, but he knew that they were sadly true.

"So why were you looking at each other like that?" Tamara asked angrily.

"Well it wasn't exactly a casual romance that we had Tamara I think our _child_ is proof enough of that!" Neal was getting angry now, Tamara was being stubborn.

"But you said it was over, that you broke up"

"We didn't exactly part maliciously." Neal said, remembering when he left Emma, thinking he was helping her.

"So what you're saying is you're still in love with her." Tamara said, rising up off the couch as if to leave.

"No." Neal said, lying. He placed his hands on Tamara's shoulders. "You're my fiancé you're the only woman I love"

Tamara crossed her arms and looked away. "Save it" she mumbled."

"Look" Neal said. "I know you're mad but just try to stay calm."

"Why?"

"My son's coming over. Emma should be dropping him off any minute now. We thought it would be a good idea for you to get to know him."

"And why the hell would I want to do that?" Tamara snapped.

Now Neal was getting angry. "Because he's your future stepson!"

"All he is is a representation of a serious relationship you had before me!"

Now both Neal and Tamara were screaming. "What now I'm not allowed to have had relationships before you?! You're telling me you never dated anyone before me?!"

Tamara was about to say something else, but then the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Emma" Neal said calmly. "Please try to be civil." Tamara sat back down and crossed her legs and arms. Neal answered the door. Henry stood there smiling with Emma.

"Hey dad!" Henry said.

"Hey buddy!" Neal said smiling. "Hi Emma"

"Hi" Emma said. "I'll pick him up around ten tomorrow?"

"Oh that's okay" said Neal. "I'll take him out for breakfast at Granny's and then bring him home."

"You don't have to"

"I want to"

"Thanks" Emma said. "Have a good time Henry!"

"I will" said Henry. He hugged Emma and then walked inside with Neal.

Neal introduced Henry to Tamara.

"Henry" he said. "This is my fiancé, Tamara"

"Nice to meet you" Henry said, holding out his hand. "I'm Henry"

Tamara did not grab Henry's hand. She was civil but did not smile.

"Nice to meet you" she said. Neal glared at her.

"Come on buddy" he said to Henry "I'll take you to your room."

* * *

Emma opened the door, expecting to see Neal and Henry, but instead she found Neal, beside himself with tears.

"What's wrong" said Emma. "Where's Henry?"

"I don't know" said Neal. "I woke up this morning and he was gone. All that was left was a note." He paused. "A note from Tamara"

Emma's eyes grew wide.

**A/N: Well what did you think? Let me know in the comments. Just one thing, this is Swanthief fanfiction so if you don't ship Swanthief, read at your own risk(meaning please don't leave ship hate in a review. I've told you its Swanthief so you were warned) Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed it! More to come ASAP. Ive got another fanfic that I haven't updated since December and Im stuck on it. I really gotta try to work on that so idk when this will be updated but it should be soon because my heart is really into this now. Bye everyone!**

** -kingdomkeepers365**


	2. 2: A fight a letter and a start

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter took a while. Like I said I'm working on another multichap as well so I have to divide my fanfiction time. Anyway, before we start a few things. I started writing this chapter before episode 18 so this story takes place before episode 18. I guess with what we no know from the show, my reveal on Tamara in this one makes it kinda like an AU, but either way I'm finishing this story even if Neal dies in the season finale which I'm scared he might!(If you know something please don't tell me) Anyway enjoy!**

"See you in the morning buddy" Neal said goodnight to Henry and closed his bedroom door. He walked down the stairs and Tamara was waiting on the couch, her arms crossed.

"So" she said. "Are you ready to 'explain' now?" Neal sat down next to her and placed his hand gently on her leg.

"Okay" he said. "This is going to sound hard to believe at first so just bear with me."

"I'm waiting" Tamara said crossly. Neal pulled out Henry's fairytale book from the side of the couch. Tamara looked confused.

"This is not the first world I've lived in" said Neal. "My native land is a place called the Enchanted Forest" Tamara's eyes grew wide. It only lasted a millisecond, she realized her mistake immediately, but Neal had seen it. It wasn't a look of shock; it was a look of recognition. But then, Tamara's face flashed back to one of anger.

"Don't lie to me Neal" she snapped. Neal was still focused on that look he had seen flash across her face.

"I'm not lying" he said. "And you know it. You're from there, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about from where?" Normally Tamara lied well, but now her secret may have been revealed. She was scared and that made her weak. It made her vulnerable. Neal caught on to this.

"You know damn well where I'm talking about" he said.

"Alright then" said Tamara, standing up. "You got me. I'm from your land." Now she smiled evilly, letting go of her fake identity.

"It sure took you long enough to figure that one out." she said. "You're obviously not smart. Who were you then? A singing mouse? A dog? A little princess?" Now she was bullying him, mocking him. Neal caught the drift that this was not someone he wanted to be around.

"Who the hell are you?!" he shouted. She was beginning to scare him. Who was she? How much power did she have and more importantly, what did she do with her power. He looked up the stairs. More than anything he feared for Henry.

"Never mind who I am" said Tamara. She started to continue, but Neal cut her off. He was determined to protect Henry, so now he was angry and forceful.

"No!" he screamed. "I want to know. I have a right. WHO ARE YOU?!" Tamara laughed.

"Fine, I'll tell you who I am" she said. "I'm someone you should fear. Because I have magic and magic is _power_. I can do great things with my power. So you should watch your back _honey_." She emphasized the word 'honey' as if to mock him.

"Because with power I can hurt people, take things, do anything I want. And hurting someone is never as simple as just hurting them. You have to weaken them, hurt the ones they love and then, you can snap them like a twig. Who am I Neal? I'm your worst nightmare."

Now Neal was terrified, but he didn't show it. She had threatened his family and he was angry.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE TAMARA" he screamed. "NOW!"

Tamara smiled evilly and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Neal knew that she might be back. He couldn't leave Henry alone. He had to keep him safe. He walked to Henry's room and found him awake in bed, reading, visibly scared.

"I guess you heard all of that huh?" he said. Henry nodded.

"Come on" Neal said, touching him on the shoulder. "I want you to come sleep in my room alright?" he said. Henry jumped off the bed and hugged Neal. Neal draped an arm over Henry's shoulder and they walked to his room.

Emma stood in shock, not able to process what Neal had just said. She was terrified, shocked and sad at the same time. In an instant, she found herself crying. Henry was gone. Henry was _gone. _Had she heard correctly? It couldn't be. She had come so close to losing him not even a year ago. She couldn't bear it again.

"He's_ gone_?!" Emma managed to choke out. Neal's face was red. She noticed he was still in his pajamas. He must have just woken up and ran over here.

"I woke up this morning and he wasn't there." Neal said through tears. Just then, Snow and Charming walked up to the doorway, unaware of what the conversation was about. All they knew was that they heard their daughter crying.

"What's going on?" Snow asked. Emma turned around to face her, her face beet red and soaked with tears.

"Henry's missing" she said. Snow gasped. She put a hand on Emma's shoulder and pulled her to her chest. Emma was too scared to move. In all of her wildest dreams, Snow never thought that she would experience the feeling of squeezing her baby girl close to her, trying to help her through her tears.

"Neal what happened?" Charming asked. Neal swallowed, trying to collect himself. Emma and Snow slowly broke apart, Snow wiping tears from Emma's eyes.

"I don't know" said Neal. "But I think I have a pretty good idea."

"What?" said Emma.

"Last night, Tamara and I got into a fight. She wasn't accepting towards Henry at all. I was angry at her, but still wanted to be honest with her, so when I put Henry to bed I grabbed his book to show it to Tamara"

"And?"

"At first, she didn't believe me. She called me a liar. But I had seen the look on her face when I first pulled the book out. She recognized it, that much was clear."

"So you think she's from our land?" said Snow.

"I don't just think it, I know it. She admitted it to me. One thing is certain; she's not on our side."

"So you're saying Tamara is evil?" Charming asked.

"Most definitely."

"Well who is she?" said Emma. "Do you know? Did she tell you?"

"She wouldn't say" said Neal. "All she said was that she was someone I should fear, because she had magic. She made a threat about hurting me by hurting the ones I love."

"What did you do?"

"What else? I kicked her out of the apartment. But then, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, like Regina and that woman Cora were doing. I think my father was pretty adept at it too." Neal realized he was getting off topic.

"Never mind" he said. "The point is, I would've brought Henry straight to you, but I didn't know where Tamara was, and I didn't want to risk her being right outside the apartment and grabbing Henry. So, I brought him into my room to sleep with me"

"Of course" said Snow. "That's what anybody would have done."

"So you think Tamara took him?" Emma asked.

"I know Tamara took him" said Neal.

"We have to go we have to go right now we have to find him" Emma said, starting to cry again.

"Slow down" said Charming. "First we need to know where she took him"

"You said she left a note" said Emma. "What does it say?"

Neal wiped tears from his eyes and grabbed the note from his pocket. Shaking, he unfolded it and handed it to Emma. He buried his face in his hands, still feeling guilty. How could he not have heard Tamara come into his room and take Henry? As this was happening, Emma began to read the note silently. Snow leaned over her shoulder so that she could see as well. The note read

_I told you I was someone you should fear._

_What are you going to do now honey? _

_Life is ironic isn't it?_

_The place that was the core of your love and your dreams in the past_

_Is now the place that will break your heart._

_If you come looking be warned_

_I am too powerful_

_You will not win_

_ -Your Fiancée_

"The place that was the core of your love and your dreams." said Snow. "What does that mean?"

Neal looked up at Emma as if to say he knew what the letter meant. Emma looked at his face and figured it out instantly.

"No way" she said.

"I think so" said Neal.

"But how did she…"

"I have no idea"

"Are you sure?"

"It's worth a shot"

"Hold on" said Charming. "What are you talking about, where's Henry, where did Tamara take him?"

Emma looked at her father and saw his eyes filled with concern, fear and sadness, all for her. All because that's what she was feeling. She looked at this man who loved her so much and told him in one word more about her past than she had ever told him.

"Tallahassee" she said.

**A/N: Well what did you think? I hope you liked it. So yep. This is a Tallahassee fanfic. Next chapter Ill explore Neal and Emma starting their journey and start o explore what this is going to mean for them. Okay, so something I usually do with my other mulitchap is I give a trivia question, on anything, and the first three people to get the correct answer in a review or PM get a sneak peek of the next chapter in their PM inbox. So I figured I'd start that here. Starting off basic. **

**What is the name of the actress who plays Tamara?**

**Well good luck guys have fun! Oh and just to let you know, Im going on vacation next week so the next chapter might get delayed even more. Ill try my best though. See ya soon bye!**

** -kingdomkeepers365**


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